The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has warned motorists to be on the lookout for fraudulent messages purporting to issue speeding tickets, following growing complaints from Kenyans and motorists who say they are receiving fake traffic violation alerts linked to suspicious payment websites.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The warning comes after several motorists shared screenshots of text messages claiming their vehicles had triggered traffic restrictions and directing them to click on links to view and pay alleged penalties.

One of the messages seen by Kenyans.co.ke read: "Friendly reminder: Your vehicle triggered a traffic restriction; a related penalty notice has been issued. Please log in to view," before providing a suspicious web link that reportedly redirected users to a page requesting credit card details.

"Scam alert! I have received this notification on my phone, and once you click, it takes you to a page asking for a credit card payment," one motorist warned while sharing the message online.

📌 What You Need to Know

The fake alerts have sparked concern among motorists, with some questioning why the fraudsters have continued operating despite similar complaints emerging over the past two weeks.

Responding to the concerns, NTSA urged motorists to disregard messages from unofficial sources and verify all traffic-related notifications through the authority's official communication channels.

"For accurate and reliable information regarding NTSA services, we encourage the public to rely only on official communication issued through NTSA's verified channels and platforms," the authority said.

NTSA further advised motorists to make payments only using instructions sent through its official SMS sender ID, 22847_NTSA, or through services available on its official website, NTSA offices and Huduma Centres.

The latest warning comes just days after NTSA moved to clarify another issue surrounding instant traffic fines after some motorists questioned why payment records appeared to bear the names of private individuals instead of the authority.

NTSA Director General Nashon Kondiwa explained that the names belonged to authorised bank agents facilitating transactions and not private beneficiaries, insisting that all payments are ultimately deposited into official government accounts.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke